An Achievable Dream Middle and High School principal said the school works at 100 percent on-time graduation

NEWPORT NEWS — In Fall 2007, 52 ninth-graders began their high school career at An Achievable Dream Middle and High School.

Four years later, 43 of them donned caps and gowns at The Ferguson Center for the Arts and collected diplomas and scholarships, earning the school the distinction of being one of six in the state to post a 100 percent on-time graduation rate.

The nine students who were not part of the graduating class either moved or transferred to another school, said Principal Marylin Sinclair-White.

Sinclair-White said the perfect graduation rate was neither luck nor a glitch. It came from adherence to the school's goal of graduating 100 percent of its students and sending them on to college. She said the school's small size allows adults to develop relationships with students and closely track their progress. Those relationships extend to parents and guardians. Students and their parents sign contracts with the school. Students pledge to be crime free, drug free, attend school and not become pregnant or father a child while enrolled in Achievable Dream.

"The contract is really a framework for students to sign onto and buy into the culture of the school," she said. "These are the barriers that get in the way of completing high school."

An Achievable Dream Academy and the Middle and High School grew out of an after-school program developed by Newport News businessman Walter Segaloff. They operate within the Newport News School District and have partnerships with local businesses, the military, law enforcement agencies and the Riverside Health System. Students receive cultural and social training in addition to academic instruction, interact regularly with business professionals and law enforcement and get free medical care and tennis lessons.

District spokeswoman Michelle Price said students attend longer school days than the rest of the district and receive financial support from the An Achievable Dream Foundation, which augments state, local and federal funding. Third- through 12th-grade students apply to attend Achievable Dream schools. The majority of the students are black, according to state Department of Education enrollment data.

Most come from low-income families, but Sinclair-White said that is not an excuse not to succeed.

"The kids here have baggage like everyone else," she said. "Some have more."

Sinclair-White said preparation for graduation begins in the middle school grades and continues through high school. Students are expected to master academic classes, apply to colleges and take the SAT college admissions test. "That's the goal, to finish high school and go to college."

Sinclair-White said relationships extend to parents, who are kept informed about their children's progress.

This year's seniors are expected to attend SAT preparation classes before the November test date, and she provided parents with notebooks to keep track of those classes.

Sinclair-White said being a small school helps, but "small doesn't mean it will work. It's people and resources."

She said the push to meet the school's goals extends to faculty. This year, all teachers are working on "engaging students in active learning," and are expected to share what they do at regular faculty meetings. Teachers, like students, have longer days at An Achievable Dream.

Asked if the programs and culture of An Achievable Dream can be scaled up and implemented across all Newport News high schools, Sinclair-White said some of the programs are in use at the other schools, but each school has a different population and culture and not all the approaches would work.

"It's not a cookie cutter," she said. "You're not going to find one thing that works for all of us."

An Achievable Dream

An Achievable Dream Academy and Middle and High School grew out of an after-school program developed by businessman Walter Segaloff.

In 1994, the program became an elementary school for students in grades 3-5, and expanded to include K-2 in 2000. In 2007, the program opened a secondary school for students in grades 6-12. The high school's first graduating class received diplomas in 2011.

Admission is by application, except for K-2 students who live in the elementary school's zone.

The schools are operated as a public/private partnership with Newport News Public Schools.

Students must meet the same district and state standards and graduation requirements as other students in the district.

100% graduation rate

In addition to Achievable Dream Middle and High School, five other Virginia public schools posted 100% on-time graduation rates in 2011: